So this is a  big deal! One hundred posts about my trials and tribulations about writing Julius, working as freelance writer, and an occasional post on whatever is top of mind.

I feel as if I should celebrate and have some cake. Wait, I can’t do that I am on a strict diet.  But I will write about some changes I’m making to Julius.

Have you ever read William Goldman’s The Princess Bride? Don’t cheat and say yes when you actually saw the movie, which was cute, but the book was much better. One of the gimmicks that Goldman used was that he interrupted the story with his own observations about his wife and kid, working in Hollywood, and  about life in general. I loved those sections because he really was reaching out to his audience  and confiding in them. Sort of what I do with these posts. I mean doesn’t it seem that I’m actually sitting next you, drinking a cup of coffee, shooting the shit, about what’s next for Julius or what recent software discovery I made. It’s personable, right?

Apart from adding more layers and depth to the scenes I have I thought it would be a neat little trick to have Corinne, the narrator,  step out of the frame of telling her story, and address her audience. John Burdett uses this in his Bangkok series. His narrator and hero, Sonchai Jitpleecheep, addresses his readers as farang, the Thai word for Westerner.  For Corinne, this would be her way of editorializing in her wry manner. I’m playing around with it and I have to send it to my workshop members and see if it works. One person likes the concept, but she hasn’t read it yet.

Other than that, I am adding more musculature to the story, trying to play around with metaphors, answering questions workshop members had about how the characters could afford to quit their jobs to run a literary magazine and be gilded bohemians. Lots to work to do for Part 1, and I have to get myself out of the corner for Part 2. That means reconsidering the role of three characters. These are the bad guys, and I need for each one to make sense of why they belong in the story. So it’s time to use the white board draw up a list of why they should be included and why they should.

[Insert BIG sigh]

It seems my work is never done. And let’s not talk about the paying job. That seems to have turned into a 24/7 job, and I’m behind. Very behind on writing lots and lots of articles!

Even though I have discussed time management numerous times, it still is an issue. And I don’t know what to do except get up earlier, go to bed later, cut out all socializing (off and online), and just be focused on one thing: Writing.

Speaking of which I have a story to write and a revised chapter to send to a workshop member. Off I go!

This week I have to work on four articles, plus rework another article. In addition to those, I have to work on Julius, write a book review, make my daily entries on Fit and Svelte, train, along with all the other activities that come with living–like breathing, eating, showering, and so on. Suffice it to say, it’s a wee too much and I’m a tad overwhelmed–and it’s only Tuesday. I know by this crazy schedule that it will be a work weekend. Once I have that burned into my brain, I’ll be okay with it.

The question that arises again and again is how to manage my time better? I was planning to go to the gym–walk to and from–but that eats up an hour of my time. And since it’s turning into a crappy day, I’ll be working out at home. Is the workout necessary? Yes, since I am training for a 10K. But it’s also a mind clearer and it does help me write.  Right now I need all the help I can get because I have rework an article I didn’t find all that interesting (perhaps, I’ll have a major revelation while I’m ellipting?) In any event, working out at home does give me some time to do other things like post on this blog.

Most time management experts say that if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the tasks that you need to prioritize. some say the do the hards one first and then do the easy ones last. While others say get the fast and easy ones out of the way first. I suppose writing this post is considered one of the easy, get out of the way ones, but to me it’s a little more than that. It’s a warm-up to spending the day writing, and it has a high placing on the priority task list.

This time management issue is always a battle with me because I seem to make everything a priority and then I get overwhelmed. It’s one of those catch-22s. What gets chucked or ignored? FaceBook for sure, and possibly email (at least the socializing emails, newsletters, etc). Phone calls are to be ignored, unless it’s a writing related call.  Unfortunately, book reviews (the unpaid ones) and Julius get delegated to the bottom of the list.

I know I’ll pull through and I know something will have to get dropped (except for the paid articles). Well, Saturday is my rest day from working out. I suppose it will be my catch up day for everything else.

Off to the elliptical and then onto THAT article.

Now that I no longer have any PR clients, tomorrow marks the first official business day of my new freelance writing career. It’s time that I keep a strict work schedule. But wait, I have so many things that I want to accomplish this year that I fear there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done.

I know I can eliminate the time-wasters like the incessant email and FaceBook checking, Twitter, sleeping in, and overall putzing around. My concern is that writing projects like Julius, reviews for Alvah’s Books, and this blog can easily consume an entire day. How much time should I dedicate to each one? With Julius when the inspiration comes, I can spend several hours writing. Does it make sense to schedule a time—either very early in the morning or late in the evening? And this blog, my goal is to write a post daily. Sometimes it doesn’t take me too long and other times, well, you see my musings run on the longish side (by the way, short stories not my forte).  

I’ve put out the question of time management to my fellow writers on the Internet Writing Workshop and so far the response has been sticking to a schedule and determining priorities.

Hmm…I guess I’m going to have some long days this year.